Besieged villagers say lorry tankers trundle by every 10 minutes to dump wastewater, leaving potholes and chewed-up verges in their wake.

The huge vehicles have been causing chaos for nearly a month for residents in Pound Lane, Ashford, with fears the road surface could be damaged further.

The pumping station at Pound Lane is thought to be in use more frequently due to ongoing issues at the site in Derings, with calls for Southern Water to find alternative options for its wastewater, amid “24/7 disruption to residents”.

It comes after a two-week road closure from November 15 to November 28, when only tankers were allowed on the road, with fears the narrow route could be shut off yet again.

Cllr Ray McGeever, ward member for Kingsnorth and Bridgefield said during one day in November he “visited the location and counted 12 tankers waiting to unload.

“At night this meant lights, revving up of trucks, general through-the-night noises of trucks coupling and uncoupling pipework, and dangerous obstructions to other road users.

“I would like Southern Water to consider alternative sites where flood waters discharged from tankers can be done so in a safer manner avoiding 24/7 disruption to residents.”

John and Christine Walton moved from London to Pound Lane eight years ago and say the number of tankers coming past their home has become “10 times worse” over the past few weeks.

“They chew the side of the road up. The gaps are then filled with soil which as soon as it rains, gets washed away,” Mr Walton says.

Mr and Mrs Walton, both 72, however acknowledge the tanker drivers are doing their job, and say the many vehicles are understandable if it saves their home from getting flooded.

Christine Breeds has lived in Pound Lane for 48 years and says the road is collapsing at the sides, due to the many vehicles.

She says: “I hope they don’t start closing the road every time there’s a lot of rain. The road is just going to get worse,” she said.

“The road can’t cope with the tankers coming down this often. When they come down, we have to do our best to get around them in our cars but the road is so sunken it’s hard.”

Robert Little and his wife moved to the rural spot in September last year.

Mr Little says: “One thing that does frustrate me a little bit is the tankers are chewing up all of the verges and the potholes are pretty bad so I have concerns that long term.

“Something needs to be done because it’s not sustainable to have all those lorries ripping up the verges and creating more potholes.”

“The road currently requires a lot of care when you’re driving down it but if the tankers carry on and it gets worse, it will be a very dangerous road.”

Southern Water has been contacted multiple times by KentOnline about Pound Lane but has not responded with an official statement.